Vegan Eats, Day 1

by Lara on October 3, 2011

If I had to describe my relationship with vegetables on a Facebook dropdown, I would select the option that says, “It’s Complicated.”

Sometimes I love them. Other times, well, I just don’t. Raw vegetables usually fall into the latter category, unless they are in the form of a very dressed up salad. That’s why my vegetables are usually roasted, boiled, or stir-fried.

Breakfast: Pumpkin oatbran and black coffee. I was lazy and didn’t blend the mix like it says in the book, but it still turned out great.

Lunch: My Thai crunch salad deviated a little from the book’s recipe. I forgot to prepare the tofu ahead of time (and thus used bottled teriyaki sauce), used cashews instead of peanuts, forgot the edamame, and didn’t follow the dressing instructions accordingly. Nevertheless, it was still very good, and I plan on perfecting it tomorrow.

I ended up snacking on the forgotten edamame while I made dinner.

Dinner: White bean and quinoa burgers, first seen on Andrea’s Wellness Notes. I cooked the quinoa with vegetable broth in hopes of imparting some extra flavor. This is a solid recipe because the texture of the burgers is perfect (best texture of any veggie burger recipe I have tried), but I think next time I’ll spice up the flavor. It’s a great “blank canvas” for future veggie burger creations.

To make the burgers:

Cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of liquid (broth or water).

Drain and mash one can of cannellini beans (also known as white kidney beans, or you could also use Great Northern).

Add 3/4 cup of ground flaxseed.

Add garlic, herbs…whatever you want for flavor.

Mix all together and form into patties (I used a 1 cup measuring cup and filled to the 1/2 line).

Pan-fry in cooking spray or a little oil and serve.

Lulu and Pippa like to watch me prepare dinner in case I drop something or decide to give them a sample. Once they hear me start chopping, they run over in hopes of getting a carrot or broccoli stem.

After my honeymoon, I went on a veggie binge too. I lost all appetite for meat and just craved vegetables.

I love Mama Pea’s cookbook and also The Kind Diet cookbook by Alicia Silverstone. I make at least one recipe from their cookbook per month, sometimes per week. If you want some recipes, I have them posted on my blog.

Whenever I make quinoa I always use a ton of spice to bring it alive – curry or chili powder, with some white wine vinegar for acidity and dried fruit for sweetness! Then I sneak in a bunch of kale and raw veg!

Your food looks good! I had totally forgotten about the quinoa burgers. I guess I should read my blog once in a while… 😉 And yes, the burgers are perfect for spicing up. I think I’ll get creative! Wonder if I ate them with a big sea of ketchup when I made them…

Really thinking about making those quinoa burgers this week. I’ve never even tried quinoa before! What other herbs would you suggest putting in them? Maybe I could go for a curried burger, or a spicy one.. maybe some red chili flakes or something.